Car-stopping device



April 20 1926. 1,581,987

H.- SHEPARD CAR- STOPPING DEVICE Filed April 23.1925

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l wmlmsas mvau'r'oa W 'J fl ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 20, 1926.

PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY HUDSON SHEPARD, 0F SCRANTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-STOPPING DEVICE.

Application filed April 23,1925. Serial No. 25,322.

To all whom it may concern I a Beit known that I, HENRY H.- SHEPARD, a citizen of the United States of America, and

a resident of Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have mvented a new and Improved Car- Stopping Device, of which the following is a description.

My inventlon relates to a device for use 1n lieu of a bumper for stopping cars at a terminal or like stopping point should they approach the device at undue speed.

The general object of my invention is to provide means to bring about a gripping action on the wheels-of a, car entering the de vice and functioning in a manner to utilize the momentum of the car so that the higher the momentum the greater gripping action will be produced on the car Wheels.

The invention is characterized by a pair of gripping shoes disposed along each rail of a track adapted to be spread by the car wheels. The spreading of the rails compresses spring means and brings into play pairs of wedges, the wedges of a pair comprising a fixed wedge appurtenant to the shoes. The shoes are so arranged as to be permitted a limited longitudinal movement and the arrangement is such that the car wheels when gripped will tend to carry the shoes forwardly with the wedges in contact, the action of the wedges serving to. press the shoes more tightly against the wheels.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, it being understood that the drawings are merely illustrative of one example of the invention.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a device embodying my invention with the parts in position before the entering of a car wheel between the shoes; Figure 2 1s a vlew slmilar to F1gure 1 but illustrating the positions of the parts brought about by the entering of a car wheel between the shoes;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical section on theline 3-3, Figure 2.

In carrying out my invention in accordance with the illustrated example, a pair of elongated shoes 10 is provided, the members of the pair being disposed at opposite sides of each track rail A. At the approach the shoes 10 are formed with outwardly curved terminals 110 to guide the wheel between the shoes without injury thereto. Said shoes 10 with the shoes 10.

:iredisposed on a bed plate orelongated chair 11 which is formed with side flanges 12 at the opposite sides and spaced from the rail A and the shoes 10. Said plate is secured in any suitable manner as'by spikes 13.

On the flanges 12 at the inner sides thereof and rigid therewith are wedges 14 and coacting with the wedges 14 are oppositely disposed wedge elements 15 which are rigid I provide spiral springs 16 in series at opposite sides of the shoes 10 and disposed hen a car wheel such as indicated at B.

in Figure 2 travelling along the track rail serves to spread said shoes, compare Figure 1 showing the device without a wheel between the shoes and F1gure 2 having a wheel between the shoes.

The spreading of the shoes 10 serves to compress the springs 16 and a compression of the springs to the limitof their compressibility, or approximately so, willbring the opposed wedge elements 14, 15 into contact.

The resistance of the springs to the spread ing of the shoes 10 serves to exert a binding action of the shoes against the wheel. As the wheel continues to travel along the rail A while gripped by the shoes 10, the shoes A enters between the shoes 10, the wheel are carried longitudinally to a limited degree and the wedges 14, 15 now function to lncrease the pressure of the shoes against the wheel until the same is effectively stopped@ The shoes 10 may be released from the wheel by giving the shoes a retrograde longitudinal movement to relieve the contact between the wedges 14, 15.

I would state furthermore that while the illustrated example constitutes a practical embodiment of my invention, I do not limit myself strictly to the exact details herein illustrated, since, manifestly, the same can be considerably varied without departure from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A car stopping device including springpressed shoes adapted to be positioned at ments laterally outward of said shoes and opposed wedge elements on the shoes adapted to contact with the fixed wedge elements upon a spreading of the shoes.

2. A car stopping device including a pair of elongated shoes adapted to be positioned at opposite sides of a track ail, and yieldable laterally outward to be subject to the spreading action of a car wheel entering therebetween, and means respectively on the shoes and laterally outward of the shoes and adapted to engage each other and be brought into action by the spreading of the shoes to cause a binding action of the shoes against the wheel.

3. A car stopping device including a pair of elongated shoes adapted to be positioned at opposite sides of a track rail, and yieldable laterally outward to be subject to the spreading action of a car wheel entering therebetween, and wedge means brought into action by the spreading otthe shoes to cause a binding action of the shoes against the wheel.

4. A car stopping device includlng a pair I of elongated shoes adapted to be positioned at opposite sides of a track rail, and mounted for a limited longitudinal movement, said shoes being yieldable laterally outward to be subject to the spreading action of a car wheel entering therebetween, and means brought into action by the spreadingof the shoes to cause a movement of the shoes toward each other and cause a binding action thereof against the wheel.

5. In a car stopping device, a pair of elongated shoes adapted to be disposed at opposite sides of a track rail, springs. disposed at intervals along the respective shoes at the outer sides thereof and yieldable to permit spreading of the shoes by an entering car wheel, wedge elements outside of the shoes at intervals along the same, and

wedge elements on the shoes and opposing the first-mentioned wedge elements.

6. A car stopping device including an elongated rail chair, elongated shoes disposed on said chair and free to have limited longitudinal movement thereof, upstanding flanges on said chair outside of said shoes, springs between said shoes and said flanges and abutting against both, fixed wedge elements on said flanges at the inner sides, and mating wedge elements on the shoes adjacent the first mentioned elements, said wedge elements adapted to contact with each other upon a lateral outward yieldingof the shoes.

7. The combination with a track rail, of elongated shoes, spring means pressing said shoes in a-direction toward each other to hold the same in close relation to the track rail, said shoes being free to have limited longitudinal movement, and means subject to a compression of the springs to cause a binding of the shoes against a car wheel.

8. The combination with a track rail, of elongated shoes, spring means pressing said shoesin a direction toward each other to hold the same in close relation to the track rail, said shoes being free to have limited longitudinal movement, and means subject to a compression of the springs to cause a binding of the shoes against a car wheel disposed between the shoes, said shoes ha' ing outwardly deflected terminals at the approach ends of the shoes. I

9. A car stopping device including a pair or" elongated shoes free to have limited longitudinal movement and laterally yieldable to afford clea ance for the passage or a car wheel therebetween, and wedge means adapted to function upon a longitudinalmovement of the shoes, said wedge means adapted to cause the shoes to bind against the car wheel and exert stopping action thereon in proportion to the momentum or" the car wheel.

HENRY HUDSON SHEPARD. 

